The Jackal(1997)- User Reviews

This was an amaing movie. Although many people ended up rooting for the "bad guy" I didn't. Which is not to say that Bruce Willis didn't do a good job. He did a great job. Many people that I have heard and talked to seem to think that the best villian is a villian that is not all bad. To me the best villian is sometimes ALL bad. It seems to be the case in this movie. But I think Richard and Sidney made the movie for me. Richard brought a more sympathetic side to the IRA and regardless of your politics about it, he showed that it isn't all about terrorists, sometimes it is just someone who believes in what he is doing. For example, Gere's character, Declan, made it important to point out that he never killed women or children, only other soldiers or "enemy combatants". Sidney's character, the FBI deputy Director whose name eludes me at the moment, was full of character (no pun intended). When one of his agents suggested that they use Declan's "woman" as leverage in case Declan tried to leave, he flat out denied the suggestion, saying that no matter what Declan did, they (the FBI) would do everything by the book. At the end I liked that the two characters, no matter how different their politics and beliefs were, were able to end up respecting one another for who the other person was. I know I left out Bruce Willis' and Diane Venora's great performances but that would take up even more space. Needless to say, they both did amazing jobs.